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Toddler Sleep
Sleep is probably the most commonly discussed aspect of raising young children. It does not take new parents long to learn how important sleep is to their baby. The quality and quantity of their child’s sleep affects everything from their health, to their mood and their behaviour during the day.
After 12 months of obsessing about your babies sleep – or lack of it. You would think that your sleep woes should be over, but rarely does a parent’s sleep struggles end when their baby moves from baby to toddler.
All about Toddler Sleep
Instead of cries and 2.00am calls for a feed, you will now be faced with refusals to go to bed, pleas for more water, hugs or the all important ‘five more minutes’. And once they are finally asleep, there are the late night calls after a nightmare.
How Much Sleep Is Enough?
It really is hard to know how much sleep your toddler should be getting. The charts that are available only give you an average, and what works well for one child, may not work for another. You really need to monitor your child’s behaviour during the day, to decide whether they are getting enough.
Do they act tired and lethargic and yawn during the day. Do they seem grumpy and not seem to have much energy. Then it is most likely they are not getting much sleep. However, you can’t use these signs as your only clues, as not all kids act the same way when they are tired. Some toddlers can become hyperactive, disagreeable, and exhibit ever changing extremes in behaviour when they are overtired.
Now in saying that there is a variance in sleep requirements for a child, most do fall within a pretty predictable range of hours based on their age. Here are some approximate numbers based on age.
From around 12 – 18 months of age your toddler will need around 12 – 15 hours sleep per day. This will usually be broken up as one big night sleep of around 10 – 13 hours and either two small naps of around 1 ½ hours per day, or one big midday nap or around 2 - 3 hours.
After around 18 months, your child’s sleep requirements will stay the same, however your child may naturally move to one big sleep during the day, say napping around 11.30am or 12.00pm for anywhere from 1 ½ to 3 hours, followed by a big night sleep of 10- 12 hours.
Between the ages of two and three, your child will pretty much stay on the same routine accept their day time nap may drop down to 1 ½ to 2 hours only, with most of their sleep being at night. Some days your child may resist their nap and want to keep playing. Unless they exhibit tired or cranky behaviour, it is not essential that a child over 2 ½ has a nap, during the day, everyday. So whilst it is preferable, don’t force it. Maybe just give them a time out with some quiet games. And try for an earlier bed time.
After the age of four, your child may want a small nap during the day of around 30 mins to an hour on active days, or they may drop their day nap all together. Your child will still need 10 – 12 hours sleep at night, all the way through their early childhood, however, and it will not be until their preteens that their sleep requirements will begin to drop by another hour or two.
Why doesn’t my toddler want to go to bed?
There are a few things that can motivate a toddler to stay awake even when they are tired, these include things , such as separation anxiety, the desire just to be up with mum and dad (so they don’t miss out on anything), or simply because they are just having too much fun to stop and sleep.
Whilst your toddler may not want to slow down and nap, at this age, they still do need their day time naps and a good night sleep, so it is important to quieten them down and encourage them to nap.
Sometime parents make the mistake of thinking that keeping a child up all day will wear them out making them sleepier at bedtime, which in turn will allow them to have a long and solid sleep. Unfortunately though, the reality is the opposite, as children have a harder time sleeping if they're overtired, and can be fitful and restless during the night which can encourage night awakenings.
Bed time and nap routines
Establishing a bedtime or nap routine helps children relax, wind down and get ready for sleep. It is best to do the same thing every day so your child learns to recognise the ‘cues’ for when it is time to relax and get ready for bed.
For a toddler, you should incorporate around 15 to 30 minutes of calming activities such as reading a story, having a bath followed by a massage, or listening to soft music whilst having a quiet talk or cuddle with mum or dad. You don’t need long or complicated rituals, just simple, quiet activities they allow your child to wind down. As your child gets older you can help them enjoy some sense of control over their bed time routine by letting them choose which story to read, which music to listen to or what cuddly toy to take to bed.
Remember that active dreaming begins around this age, and your child may begin to have nightmares. As toddlers can’t distinguish between imagination and reality yet, be careful what TV shows, if any, your toddler sees, particularly just before bedtime.
Night Time Wake Ups
Even the best sleepers can give parents an occasional wake-up call during the night. Whether it is teething, illness, nightmares, sleeping in an unfamiliar bed or just waking up too hot or cold, most toddlers can’t get back to bed without some attention and comfort from their parents.
When your child wakes during the night, give them a cuddle, comfort them and stay with them whilst they go back to sleep. If they have had a bad dream, ask if they would like to talk about it. Stay with them until they are calm, then maybe offer to leave a hall light on, get a favourite toy, or sit with them whist they go back to sleep. Whatever you do, don’t make a big fuss and encourage your child to go back to sleep as soon as possible.
Send us your toddler advice or experiences, we would love to hear from you
